The central mission of Carleton’s Environmental Studies Program is to educate the next generation of environmental scholars and professionals in the fundamental scientific, ecological, social, ethical, political, and economic forces that govern environmental issues and the long-term quality and viability of society. The complexities of environmental problems dictate that study of the environment be based in multiple disciplines to provide students with skill sets and knowledge bases in the following areas: scientific principles as applied to the environment, the political, economic, social and cultural dimensions of environmental problems, the historical and ethical context for environmental problems and policy, and literary and artistic explorations of the environment. Students who major in Environmental Studies can gain a broad grounding in all of these areas, which is intended to help them understand the complex environmental issues faced by societies around the world.

The major is also designed to help students make connections across these key knowledge bases, which traditionally have been pursued largely in disciplinary isolation. In order to facilitate making these connections, the major is organized into a multidisciplinary set of core courses and four more narrowly defined areas of concentration, called foci. Students are required to complete all of the core courses and to select one of the foci as an area of concentration. The four foci are Food and Agriculture, Conservation and Development, Landscape and Perceptions, and Water Resources. These foci are designed to provide students with both breadth and depth of knowledge in these topical fields.

The Environmental Studies major prepares students for meaningful involvement in a wide array of environmental and governmental organizations, as well as for graduate study in many environmental fields, law, public policy, and other areas of inquiry.